I'm lucky to again be volunteering with the Bentonville Half Marathon training program. We meet every Saturday morning for our group long run while training for the race on March 28th. It's a chance to run with 285 of my closest running friends!
This past Saturday was much like the week...cold...seriously cold! There was plenty of Facebook taunting throughout the week as well as a little bit of education on how to properly layer for cold weather. The group is a mixture of brand new runners and some that are more experienced plus all of the Rush Running volunteers.
The temps were brisk and yet it was a perfect morning. Around mile one, I shucked off my gloves. The sun was coming up by then and I always seem to have hot hands. The way that our volunteer crew works is that we run with the group and as we hit turns or street intersections at least one volunteer stops until they are replaced by another. Our goal is to try and encourage each and every one of the group members. I got to cheer lots of people on for one turn and then 1/2 mile later got to also work the turn around point for our route.
It was so much fun to be the turn around...lots of people were pumped to see me and make the turn back to the start. I finished up the route and then headed back out to help run in some of the others still out on the course. Several other volunteers did the same thing and I have a feeling that our encouragement was appreciated.
I ended up with just over 6 miles with the training group. I headed home and picked up my dog to get some extra miles. My house is right off the route that the group had run so I was running on one of the same streets as just 30 minutes earlier. However this time, without the group, the temps felt so much colder. I don't know what it was but it really was a struggle. I had to put my gloves back on and wipe away some cold tears. Thankfully I got warmed back up and was able to get to about 9 miles total for the day.
It felt good to get my long run built back up and it was so much fun to hear members of the group be so proud of themselves for hitting their longest runs yet. It is so much fun to give back to this group and in turn receive so much from each of them.
Showing posts with label Bentonville Half Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bentonville Half Marathon. Show all posts
Monday, January 12, 2015
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Crazy Weather Days
I rarely remember to look at the weather forecast until Friday...and that's simply to plan for the weekend workouts. This Friday I discovered we were in for a weekend treat! Saturday morning was forecast to have cold rain for the hours during our group training run. I needed to run at least 11 miles this week which meant starting before the group run at 6:15 to fit in extra miles before the group 7 miler.
I met up with the early group and we headed out on a new to me loop. The weather was drizzly/misty and temps were getting colder for sure. One of the guys mentioned that his watch wasn't sync'd yet and I stupidly pressed stop on mine for the few seconds that we waited. Once we started moving I pressed start again...but you can probably see where this is going! Yep, after a while I wondered why I hadn't heard my mile beep sound and took a look to see my watch not on. Boo...I started it then but missed about half of the loop.
We got back to the activity center as the training group seminar was finishing up. I had enough time to beat the crowd to the bathroom and then to put on a dry vest. I had packed extra coats, vest, and long sleeve tees just in case. When we stop between the early run and the training group run, the sweat from the first run can really cause you to develop a chill. I was very happy to have a dry vest on for the next run.
We headed out with the training group to do the first 7 miles of the half marathon course. I spent much of the run with my buddy Jeff. I grilled him about trail running as that is something he is experienced at. He is one of the ultrarunners on the Rush Running team. Whenever we get a chance to run together he keeps me entertained and gets me to pick up my pace.
One thing that we talked about on the run was how many people in the training group run with ear buds in and the music up so high that they don't hear you talking to them. I used to run with music so I know that it has a purpose but I can't tell you how much more fun it is to run and chat with your friends. We have 250 people in the training group and I enjoy getting to meet someone new each week even if it's just for a brief chat during the run.
The awesome folks from Team GPP and Rampy Foundation for MS were out staffing the water stop in the rain. That's true dedication and service and I know all of the runners were thankful. Coming out of the water stop we had a mile that was mostly a gradual uphill. It's barely an incline but enough that it tires you out. Once we finished that incline the rain picked up and became a downpour. Thankfully we only had 1.5 miles left in the run.
As we finished up we came up on a father and daughter running. It made me think of running with my dad and also made me think of Jeff's girls and how much they have grown up. This father/daughter duo was especially entertaining. Dad was listening to music and with the rainy weather his glasses were fogging over. He kept getting lost on the road...his daughter would have to grab his elbow to point out that we were turning for example. She was really cute and laughing with us.
All together I ended up with 11 1/2 cold and rainy miles. My clothes were soaked when we finished and I was thankful to have clean, dry clothes to put on after. The crazy weather continued today with about 4 inches of snow. I don't have any rainy pictures but here is a look at my snowy, sunset view tonight.
I met up with the early group and we headed out on a new to me loop. The weather was drizzly/misty and temps were getting colder for sure. One of the guys mentioned that his watch wasn't sync'd yet and I stupidly pressed stop on mine for the few seconds that we waited. Once we started moving I pressed start again...but you can probably see where this is going! Yep, after a while I wondered why I hadn't heard my mile beep sound and took a look to see my watch not on. Boo...I started it then but missed about half of the loop.
We got back to the activity center as the training group seminar was finishing up. I had enough time to beat the crowd to the bathroom and then to put on a dry vest. I had packed extra coats, vest, and long sleeve tees just in case. When we stop between the early run and the training group run, the sweat from the first run can really cause you to develop a chill. I was very happy to have a dry vest on for the next run.
We headed out with the training group to do the first 7 miles of the half marathon course. I spent much of the run with my buddy Jeff. I grilled him about trail running as that is something he is experienced at. He is one of the ultrarunners on the Rush Running team. Whenever we get a chance to run together he keeps me entertained and gets me to pick up my pace.
One thing that we talked about on the run was how many people in the training group run with ear buds in and the music up so high that they don't hear you talking to them. I used to run with music so I know that it has a purpose but I can't tell you how much more fun it is to run and chat with your friends. We have 250 people in the training group and I enjoy getting to meet someone new each week even if it's just for a brief chat during the run.
The awesome folks from Team GPP and Rampy Foundation for MS were out staffing the water stop in the rain. That's true dedication and service and I know all of the runners were thankful. Coming out of the water stop we had a mile that was mostly a gradual uphill. It's barely an incline but enough that it tires you out. Once we finished that incline the rain picked up and became a downpour. Thankfully we only had 1.5 miles left in the run.
As we finished up we came up on a father and daughter running. It made me think of running with my dad and also made me think of Jeff's girls and how much they have grown up. This father/daughter duo was especially entertaining. Dad was listening to music and with the rainy weather his glasses were fogging over. He kept getting lost on the road...his daughter would have to grab his elbow to point out that we were turning for example. She was really cute and laughing with us.
All together I ended up with 11 1/2 cold and rainy miles. My clothes were soaked when we finished and I was thankful to have clean, dry clothes to put on after. The crazy weather continued today with about 4 inches of snow. I don't have any rainy pictures but here is a look at my snowy, sunset view tonight.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
What makes you stronger!
This morning was the Bentonville Half Marathon training group's third group run. At just the 3rd week of the program, we are at a distance of two miles. For many in the group this is their first time to commit to a running program and two miles is a challenge.
The route that we tackled included the Compton Gardens portion of our local running trail. This section of the trail also happens to be part of the last mile of the race course too. The fun part of this route is that you get to run downhill only to hit the turn around point and go back up! Before each group run, our coach Mike Rush goes over pointers and call outs for the participants. Today he talked about a key form mistake a lot of us make...running with tension. His tips were to make sure you dropped those shoulders and relaxed the tension in your back.
Once we were out on the run the Rush team split up through out the group to encourage and support the participants. I ended up with my buddy Jody and we had fun encouraging others as we ran. We tried to say good job or something similar to everyone we passed. When we hit the hill we were the chattiest ones trying to take people's minds off the hill. Sometimes running can be mental and you just need a distraction! I tried my hardest to get someone to cross the top of the hill with their arms up a la Rocky but got no takers.
After running the training group in, I had 2.78 miles on my watch which was way less than my target mileage for the day. I took a quick break to use the potty and get a sip of water then headed back out. Originally I wanted to add on enough to hit 5 miles and I headed in a direction to accommodate that. Then I decided to continue on to hit 6 miles and ended up making it to 6.5 miles with my route choices. I quickly headed home and got Sidney geared up to run with me.
Sidney got a new gentle leader harness for Christmas and these are the best harnesses for her. She loves going on runs and just ran with joy the minute we got out the door. I needed another 2.5 miles to hit my 9 mile goal for the day. The thing about running from my house is that there are hills in every direction. I decided on a route that would take me down and then back up one of the biggest hills. Going down was a breeze...but coming back up was slow going. I swear my dog stopped a couple of times and looked back at me with a look that said, "seriously are you even moving!" I was slow but I conquered that hill.
That's the thing about hills...the more you train on them the easier they become. Hills truly make you a stronger runner and that is why Mike Rush has the training group run on the hills in the course. Back to Mike's tip about relaxing the shoulders and tension...I noticed on my run with Sidney that no matter the terrain she ran with joy and happiness. That pup had no tension in her little body! I should take lessons from her, especially since she beat me up that hill!
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